


Heartless

by AngryDeliveryDriver



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Betrayal, Character Death, Drama, F/M, Family Drama, Heartbreak, Reader-Insert, Sadness, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2020-12-07 20:42:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20982071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngryDeliveryDriver/pseuds/AngryDeliveryDriver
Summary: You run to try and save the last remaining bit of your life that matters.But this is what happens when you show MERCY.After all...It's kill or be killed.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl4tFJmvLN0
> 
> I’ve been struggling for months and I'm feeling spiteful.
> 
> Writing is my outlet...even if it's bad writing.
> 
> Feel free to ask questions in the comments or throw them at my tumblr. It's collecting dust so I may as well share it here. https://theangrydeliverydriver.tumblr.com/

* * *

You should have known better than to trust that child.

In the Underground, trusting someone was a liability...it was kill or be killed.

The brothers you’d come to know and love practically beat that sense of thinking into your thought process and yet...when you’d seen the child stumbling through the snow, you _ ignored those words of warning _.

Sans was adamant that it couldn’t be trusted. Papyrus only sneered whenever you tried defending them as if they were helpless…

They **pretended** to be your friend.

They **pretended** to care about you.

They **pretended** to be innocent.

** _Then they tried to kill you_ **.

Flashes of their smile and small moments you’d enjoyed in their company were all you could see as they brought the knife down across your arm when the brothers had gone out for the day. Your shrieking and cries for help definitely drew in attention; curious or nosy monsters became nothing more than collateral damage as they tried to interfere with the child’s murderous intentions towards you.

It was _ horrifying _.

And you ran.

Your only hope for survival was possibly running into one of the brothers; they’d protected you in the past, so this shouldn’t be any different.

** _Yet you were wrong_ **.

Papyrus didn’t even need to be told what happened when you’d found him and threw yourself into his arms in fear, your entire body shaking from both cold and crying. The sound of his teeth grinding was clear as day and strangely...the last thing you remember so clearly.

After that, it’s just a blinding mess of snow and bones.

And your sobbing.

That’s how Sans had found you.

The child was gone.

He saw your sobbing and freezing form, hunched over something in the snow…

** _Your tiny form latched onto Papyrus’s scarf with him nowhere in sight._ **

You hadn’t even gotten a chance to say a word when you’d felt San’s comforting presence behind you, settling his jacket on you before disappearing.

** _He was going to M U R D E R that child_ **.

It had taken you some time to stop your sobs and tears from disturbing the pile in front of you, nothing but sheer ** _hatred_ ** filling every fiber of your being.

You ** _loved_ ** Papyrus, and he was now ** _gone because of you_ **.

And now his brother was going to confront the child, possibly facing the same result.

** _The thought ran your blood colder than the chill of the snow on your body_ **.

Every single memory you’ve had with them; comforting each other, learning about each other, Papyrus confessing to you and Sans looking after you as if you were his own sister…

** _Why didn’t you listen?_ **

** _Why had you shown MERCY??_ **

You had to stop anyone else from being killed.

You had to save Sans.

** _And so...you ran._ **

You ran through town, through the wetness of Waterfall, burned your feet in Hotland.

Throughout the way, you passed so many dust piles.

It spurred you on further, the scenery blurring in your vision as more aching sobs left you breathless. Your whole body _ hurt _…

** _But it was nothing compared to what Sans must have felt_ **.

You pressed yourself harder, working through every bit of pain until you could hear the clashing, metallic slashes cutting through the air.

Sans was fighting the child…

He looked _ exhausted _…

Yet you could see pure ** _R A G E_ ** fueling his attacks…

But it didn’t make a difference.

That child had already been killed several times since your arrival yet...somehow kept blipping back into the fight as if they’d never taken a hit.

** _They were DETERMINED to murder everyone Underground_ **.

With another sob, this time of sad acceptance, you swore to make things right…

And ran straight into the fray just as the child’s knife was about to be stabbed right into San’s chest.

You could hear his choked out yell of confusion, the child letting out a gargled cry as it was pinned to a pillar in the room…

Then the darkness began taking over your vision.

“T-Tha _ FUCK _ is wrong wit ya!!” You could hear Sans cry as he entered your vision, familiar blocks beginning to fuzzily form in front of you.

Your death was the only way to bring them back.

It was the only way to save Sans.

** _He and Papyrus were better off not remembering this, anyways_ **.

You could only respond with a sad smile as he bundled you up in his arms, your vision darkening faster now.

With one final push, the strain almost overtook you…

But you reached up slowly towards one of the fuzzy blocks, realizing the motion only made the child scream angrily not to do it.

That only ** _they_ ** deserved to have that ability.

That only ** _they_ ** deserved to do as they pleased.

“S-sorry...Sans…” you whispered lovingly, giving him a final smile before pushing your hand into the manifested block. “I’ll...fix...everything…”

He begged you not to do it, but it was too late.

You broke your promise to him and Papyrus.

The darkness enveloped you with finality, the pain easing away and you let your mind slowly silence any further thoughts.

** _Delete the child?_ **

** _> E R A S E D O N O T _**

** _………………._ **

** _ E R A S E >D O N O T _ **

** _………………._ **

** _> E R A S E D O N O T _ **

** _………………._ **

** _> E R A S E _ **


	2. Relief

A choked cry of pain escaped your throat before you could stop it.

It almost felt as if you couldn’t get enough air, your lungs icy and sluggish to respond to the brain’s desperate attempt to get them to work properly.

The only feeling that could be registered as something akin to static settling over your body, accompanied by the cold-like shiver of pain making its way into your very being; your limbs were unresponsive, your eyes didn’t want to open and an area on your back was fiery hot in comparison to everything else…

Tears then started to fall as the door was thrown open with such force that the house**_ shook_**. Light flooded the room, a presence sweeping over the carpet with urgency and covering your form in its shadow. The warmth that followed when you were swept up against something with a familiar yet comforting smell had the static nearly dissipate on contact.

Breaking through your mind was the harsh memory of dust, a red scarf billowing in the wind…

And you sobbed brokenly despite the warmth shifting to wrap around you, pulling you closer, tightening their hold on you while the tears fell.

Gentle words vibrated through your aching body barely heard over your pained sobs.

Every ounce of pain now seemed to congregate on the area of your back…

_It reminded you of what it felt like to have a knife go through your skin…straight into your soul._

* * *

“Ya need to _talk_ to her ‘bout this.”

“And you need to mind your own fucking business.”

“It’s **killin**’ her.”

Any further words beyond that were silenced as Papyrus loudly slammed the wooden spoon against the counter, shattering it.

The warning was heeded, and his older brother was effectively silenced.

Hardening his scowl, Papyrus then went into the nearest drawer, fumbling a moment to pull out another (and entirely identical) spoon to continue cooking with. It wouldn’t be too much longer until you, his beloved mate, would come downstairs for a well-deserved meal…

And he _certainly_ didn’t want that conversation to be overheard, knowing it would completely ruin the day for everyone involved.

No, those kinds of things needed to be discussed and in _private_, something he didn’t trust Sans to do correctly.

The thoughts were something he’d already been plagued with. He knew what had happened, feeling the pain in your soul as he did his best to comfort you earlier that morning.

Papyrus would never lie to himself, but he would have personally preferred to have come to your rescue in terms of someone being there to threaten your life.

It was way better than _this_…a pain that he had no way or know-how to fix nor mend.

No way to _**protect**_ you…

Sans flinched when another spoon in the kitchen was shattered.

“Papyrus?!”

_Oh no…_

“Everything is _fine_, dearest!” Came the agitated growl from the kitchen in response to your startled cry from upstairs, though it didn’t seem to stop you from rushing down the stairs. Nearly stumbling, Sans watched the scene unfold as you ran head-long into Papyrus to let out another heart-wrenching cry of both relief and pain.

Your very soul was calling out for comfort.

One long sigh later, Sans dragged himself off of the couch to give the pair their privacy.

To which you were thankful for.

Seeing Papyrus’s usual scowl, broody attitude…even the _smell_ of him just sent you into near-hysteria as you clung as tightly as possible to your love, muttering promises that you would never ignore his precautions again.

It was at this time some heavy contemplating was going through the younger brother’s mind. On one hand, he wished to give reprimand for you breaking your promise to never delete anyone ever again.

The effect it had on your soul was too much to bear…knowing that death was needed to make it happen in the first place made his magic _roil_ angrily.

On the other hand, he just wanted to move on from this, sincerely wishing to just pretend that it never happened…

To just pretend that the fear of death and things to come were all from a bad dream. 

He would protect you, no matter what.

Papyrus has never broken a promise, and he definitely isn’t going to start doing so, now.

“What has made you this way, my love? Tell me, and I shall **_destroy_** it.” the skeleton monster cooed gently with such love in his voice that you couldn’t help but feel relief and _safety_.

So you told him…

Everything.

And ever since that day, your safety had been the top priority.

Papyrus had done everything he physically could to ensure that you would never have to go through such pain again.

Yes, you were now upset with him after he’d stated proudly that he’d been happy about dying to defend your life, but he felt it was well worth it.

Even now as he finished converting one of his traps into something a little more lethal, Papyrus puffed his chest proudly at the thought of his death.

He would give up his very soul if it meant for you to live on.

Though there was the annoying inconvenience of having to think of someone to look after and protect you should he dust…

Perhaps being more careful in his future battles should be taken into consideration.

Yet another issue to keep track of, Papyrus began to angrily mumble profanities under his breath to help distract himself from any more thoughts that would inevitably cause him to angrily lash out on the way to San’s outpost.

“SANS!”

The near-screech definitely caught some attention, a loud _THUD!_ echoing through the clearing, causing a large bit of snow to shake off of the trees. It caused the taller skeleton to dramatically scoff and roll his eyes, before something beyond the bridge he’d delicately crafted caught his attention.

“Y-Yeah, Boss!” San’s sleepy voice carried over the snow, the skeleton fumbling about and trying to stand after being woken from his nap. It’d taken him a moment to notice a severe lack of screaming, so when he’d gazed over at his brother, he wasn’t prepared to see the site before him.

Something small stood before Papyrus, moppy-brown hair moving through the wind as it stared up at the skeleton monster whose face sat in an unnaturally neutral pose.

Sans wasn’t prepared for a human (in stripes no less!) to approach his brother so carelessly, a face of gaping awe at his brother.

Nor was he prepared when Papyrus summoned a bone-club and brought it down upon the child’s head with such murderous intent-filled magic that the snow around him melted.

“It’s Kill…or BE Killed.” The taller skeleton snarled bitterly, kicking the child with his boot in disgust as it wept for MERCY. Sans stood frozen in place as his brother circled the crippled human mess, bouncing the club over his phalanges.

“I don’t know how you’ve returned…perhaps a power beyond my comprehension exists that you have?” he asked, not expecting an answer.

But the crying stopped immediately after his meaning was heard.

“Whether or not that’s the case, I don’t care. But know this, human child…”

Papyrus paused his movement, brandishing his club with the intention of finishing them off as they turned to gaze up.

Their glowing red eyes did nothing to phase him or his resolve.

“I, THE GREAT AND TERRIBLE PAPYRUS, VOW TO END YOUR PATHETIC LIFE OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU ARE _TRULY **DELETED**_.”

_ **The club swung down.** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't leave this as it was, so I'm going to be adding onto it.

**Author's Note:**

> You can erase whoever you want and just restart. 
> 
> But Sans won't forget the promise you broke.
> 
> And he won't forget you dying in his arms, again..
> 
> ...
> 
> Was it worth it?


End file.
